The Moon's Light
by Wolfinthemist91
Summary: They say the moon simply reflects light from the sun? They're wrong. The moon has a light all it's own. All you have to do is look for it.
1. A wolf in the shadows

Chapter 1 – A wolf in the shadows

The cool spring air caressed her face, somehow calming and refreshing at the same time. Near white blond hair fell into obsidian black eyes and was brushed away absentmindedly. Her footsteps quickened as she glanced up at the sky. Dark grey clouds had covered the sun. She rounded the corner of the white stone wall she had been following, smiling as she saw her haven - small copse of trees; openly spaced at first but becoming more dense further back. The trees weren't very deep; there was another of the stone walls hidden not far in, this one not so white as the last, instead worn to a dirty grey from age.

Smile still upon her lips she took a step towards the trees just as the first drops of rain began to fall. Wincing as a droplet landed on her nose she hurried towards the shade, not exactly thrilling in the idea of being rained on again. Once temporarily protected from the downpour she made her way calmly to a tree near the very back of the small woodland. Standing before one of the larger trees she ran a hand gently over the bark. It's rough texture under her palm comforting her.

Suddenly she froze, the sound of what was surely a twig snapping behind her had the girl on the alert. She didn't stay frozen for long. A split second after the sound she scrambled up the tree in front of her. Quick as a flash she was out of sight, hidden in the protective cover of leaves. Keeping as still as possible the girl scanned the area around her tree. She saw nothing. Maybe it had been her imagination? Perhaps it was just some small animal. But something at the back of her mind wouldn't let her think that. Call it what you will; instinct, intuition. Whatever it was, it didn't let her relax from her tense position for the best part of an hour. Of course, she didn't own a watch so had no way of telling exactly how much time had passed. There had however been no further noises and so slowly the girl relaxed into a more comfortable position and gradually drifted off into a light sleep on her branch.

_The dark grey wolf blinked his amber eyes slowly as the tense young girl visibly relaxed and sank into slumber. His head cocked to the side slightly in a puzzled way. It was an amusing gesture, looking to be more at home on a domesticated house mutt that this wolf with a strange intelligence glinting in its eyes. He stretched silently out from the crouch he had been forcing himself to hold for the last hour. It felt unnatural for his body to do so but he hadn't wanted to frighten the girl. Strange behaviour for a wolf one might think. Having satisfied himself with his stretch he slipped out of his cover of shadows. Approaching the girl's tree he sniffed the air curiously. Careful to disturb no more twigs or branches he lifted up onto his hind legs and rested the front ones against the bark, sniffing once more. Seemingly satisfied he softly dropped back down to all fours and loped gracefully away into the night._

Something in the back of her mind urged the girl to open her eyes. Quickly she did so; just in time to catch a flash of grey disappear behind the corner of the stone wall she had been following earlier. Inexplicably calm, she relaxed back into the tree and fell into a more restful sleep.


	2. Alley cat

Chapter 2 – Alley cat

She woke to the sound of singing birds and the gentle sway of the tree branches in the light breeze. She gazed up into the canopy of leaves above her, the sun filtering through casting everything in an ethereal light. Quietly she twisted around on her branch so that she could see the ground bellow her. The positioning of the leaves concealed her from view while allowing her to see through down to the ground bellow. Yes, she thought to herself, it would be nice to stay here for a few days.

Her search of the area revealing that there was nobody around, the girl dropped from the tree with cat-like grace, landing in a crouch with a soft thud. Immediately she surveyed the area from this crouch, just to be sure she had not missed anything while in the tree. She was alone. Pleased, the girl turned, having decided upon heading into town in search of what food she could scavenge. Before she had taken the first step though, something out of place caught her eye. Turning back to her tree, she ran her hand once more over the bark. Her fingers found a series of parallel grooves in the surface. They were shallow, not cutting very far into the bark, but they were most definitely there, and they were definitely new. A frown marred the girl's brow for a moment before she flattened her palm against the cuts. Frown easing into a small smile she turned and walked away, humming a slow melody. The cuts were gone.

About a half hours walk later found her stood amidst a teeming crowd of bodies, all jostling to be where they wanted to be. She allowed herself to be swept along the busy street; having no particular destination in mind. Eventually she found herself stood in front of a greasy looking cafe. Well this seems as good a place as any, she thought to herself, slipping into the shadowed alleyway alongside the building.

Quietly she slunk through the murky darkness. Straining her eyes, she saw nobody and so, upon reaching the first large dumpster she began to search for anything edible. She had spent a good ten minutes searching and yet finding only a few odd scraps before something blocked out the light from the main street. Eyes darting to the alley entrance she saw the silhouette of a large man stood blocking her escape to the street. Panicked, she turned and ran. The man barely had time to register what was going on before she was gone.

"Oi, get back here!" He was shouting as she somehow managed to clamber over the impossibly high wall at the back of the alleyway. She was gone before he had time to finish quietly to himself, "filthy little beggars..."

Gasping for breath as her small frame shook; the girl leaned against the wall she had just scaled. She could relax, there was no way he would be able to chase her with that between them. Shaken but unharmed the girl began walking, hoping to put as much distance between herself and that man as possible. She might already be safe but he could know a way around the back and she wasn't willing to take the risk. Sometime later, finally confident that she had left the imposing man behind she resumed her search for food, hoping that she would have better luck with the next place she was to try. Unfortunately for her this just wasn't her night...


	3. A conered mouse

Chapter 3 – A cornered mouse 

Sighing, she slumped against the new alley wall; it looked as though she would be sleeping hungry again tonight. The sky was turning dark and it was starting to rain again. It was time she should be heading back to her sanctuary. Dejectedly she stood, steadying herself with a hand on the wall when she began to sway with dizziness. Once she regained her balance she noticed a strange kind of tension in the air. Senses on alert she looked around with wary eyes but saw nothing. The hairs on the back of her neck standing on end she turned slowly to face the impenetrable darkness at the far end of the alley. There was something there, she was sure of it.

It was then that something changed, happening in an instant, like the snap of a twig in a forest. The air itself became heavier and her mind felt drugged. She had already taken two quiet steps forward without even noticing the motion. As soon as she realised she struggled against it, but it was as though her body was as sluggish as her mind, she didn't seem able to control it anymore.

The rain was falling more heavily now, the drops tapping on her back as though each vying for her undivided attention. Using this to focus she somehow wrenched her mind clear of thick fog clouding it and dragged herself back into reality. Glaring into the darkness she backed away a few steps but with a huge effort of will resisted turning her back on the shadows and running.

Silently she waited. It wasn't long before a black cloaked figure took shape before her. She was only able to see him now as he lowered his hood, had he deigned to do so he would have still been perfectly camouflaged in the shadows. He was tall, towering over the small girl. His pale face stood out starkly against his midnight robes, high cheekbones and thin lips adorning it. His hair was almost as black as his robes, long for a man, tied back neatly behind his head. But his eyes were what stood out most of all; perfectly clear blue, so light as to be almost transparent. They would have been beautiful on any other but the malice, the pure unadulterated cruelty contained in them made them a terrifying sight to behold. The thin lips; drawn up into what could only be described as an evil smile; left no doubt in the girls mind that this man meant her harm.

She took another two quick steps backwards and bumped into something very solid. Temporarily distracted from the blue eyed monster she turned to face this new threat with challenging eyes. A new man stood glaring back. He was also tall, and although not as tall as the first he was broader. Hulking shoulders led into arms the size of tree trunks. His face was rougher than the first, tanned to a golden brown and littered with intimidating scars. His head had been shaved, and his eyes were an indiscernible colour in the darkness. There was no mistaking the hate in their glare though. Quickly the girl surmised she would be getting no help from this new stranger.

A footfall from behind had her spinning on the spot to face the first man again, but just a split second later instinct had her stood against the alley wall, knowing she should not turn her back to either man again.

"Well well well, what a pretty little mouse..." hissed the pale skinned man, advancing slowly towards her. The larger man, dressed less strangely than the other in stonewashed jeans and a black t-shirt, stood still and silent, arms crossed sternly across his chest. Desperately she glanced up at the walls, heart sinking when she saw how high they were, stretching on and on, there was no way out up there. She already knew this alley didn't have a climbable end wall and even if it had the blue eyed man would be blocking her path. No, her only escape route was blocked by the larger of the two and there was no way she could slip past him, he was wide enough that he would only have to lean to the side to trap her again. Trembling, she realised just how cornered she was. It was late so the streets outside were empty except for other thugs like these who even if she did cry for help would probably be more inclined to join in whatever was planned for her than to attempt to stop it. She was small and weak, not having eaten a good meal for as long as she could remember. She'd always relied on her speed and wits to get her out of tricky situations. Well her speed was of no use if she had nowhere to run to and her wits hadn't done much to help her avoid this one!

Pressing her palms flat against the solid stone behind her in an attempt to hide her trembling she glared boldly at the pale man.

"What do you want, you bastard?" she demanded, her voice surprisingly clear and steady.

Genuine surprise registered briefly on his cruel face before it flowed smoothly into a sort of amused glee. "She's a feisty one, Victor! What a lucky find!" a seemingly authentic look of anguish passed across his face "it seems as though there are so few feisty ones left lately..."

"Yes sir, perhaps because you've managed to squash it out of them all?" The frightened girl turned her head in surprise at hearing the huge man speak. He did so in rough, gravelly tones, sounding as though his voice was not frequently used. His lips had pulled up at one corner in a small smile. This looked so startling on the stern man's face that she stared at him in shock and as such her mind did not immediately connect the sound of quick footsteps to her side with the pale mans approach. As soon as it did however her head whipped back round to get her bearings again and check how much distance was left between them. It wasn't much.

"Got distracted did we my pet?" he purred taking the last step to close the distance between the two, hunter and prey. As he stepped close she shrank as far back against the wall as she could, wanting desperately to turn away but knowing that would be a mistake with this creature. A pale slender hand drew close as she pulled away; she watched his face allowing the disgust to show clearly in her eyes as he reached up and traced a delicate line down the side of her neck. Snarling she whipped her head around to face him dead on and took a step back, a step closer to the larger man. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, she chose to face the more actively sinister of the two. Smirking at her response her tormentor paced forward slowly, forcing her to step back each time in response. She had only taken two of these edgy steps when rough hands from behind had grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides and effectively immobilising her. Snarling again she thrashed in the huge man's grip and attempted to kick out at him but none of her blows connected. Both men stood still and silently smirking until the young girl had exhausted herself with her frantic struggle and slumped in Victor's grip, head hanging down, body limp as a ragdoll. She had given up.

Once her struggles had stopped her blue eyed tormentor stepped forward with a grin wider than any of his last. He approached his victim once again and was reaching out for a lock of her white blond hair when a sound at the mouth of the alley made him pause. A growl.

Victor glanced back to see what the new noise was and his eyes went wide with shock. A great dog stood in the entrance of the alley. No, that couldn't be a dog, it was huge, and dogs don't look as hostile as this creature, no, this was no dog, this was a wolf. An angry wolf.

"Um... S-sir?" The man who was used to looking so intimidating paled under the fiery rage of this wolf. He looked to his master for assistance.

"Oh get out of my way you useless squib!" the arrogant man shouldered past the now cowering thug, reaching into his robes and pulling out small piece of wood. In his fear Victor had loosened his grip on the small girl and sensing this she had looked up with new hope that perhaps she might be able to escape. It was certainly a strange reaction but as soon as she saw the huge grey wolf she felt suddenly calm. It was going to be ok. And as such she relaxed into a kneeling position on the floor; Victor made no attempt to stop her; and watched the confrontation with interest.

She had so many questions. What was this wolf doing here? Why didn't she fear it? What is a squib? And what on earth did the man plan to do with that stick? Was he actually crazy enough to think the wolf wanted to play fetch?!

Then he was pointing the stick at the wolf. He yelled some words in a language she couldn't make out at the same moment as the wolf leapt for him. The next moment there was a blinding flash of red light and she screamed in shock.

Fear returning to her, she scrambled to back against the wall to the sound of snarling and shouts in that same peculiar language. Once she got over the initial shock of the red blast she noticed that there were several smaller flares being shot at the wolf as it leapt repeatedly at the man. It was only then that she noticed that the flashes; now not only red but many other colours too; were somehow being fired from the stick the man was brandishing like some sort of weapon. Clearly that was exactly what it was and he hadn't been expecting to play fetch after all. She grimaced sheepishly.

It was over quickly after that. The wolf was much too fast for the man, dodging his blasts and jumping in, attacking with tooth and claw, at every opportunity he saw. Soon the arrogant man realised that he was no match for this creature, and that if he carried on he'd likely not survive the hour. He turned and ran. The wolf chased him a way, not barking as a dog would have, instead issuing low snarls now and again, as though warning him to stay away.

Victor had long since run, having known from the beginning of the fight that his master was not destined to win this battle. He had run for his life before the wolf got a chance to finish with the pale man and go after him. Hey, he never claimed to be brave.

Slumped against the cold stone wall the girl began to gather her wits. It was only then that she noticed she was soaked through. It was raining harder than ever. At least the water was washing the blood away so it didn't look quite so gruesome. She sat there alone for a few minutes, too tired and drained to take any decisive action.

It was only a few minutes before the wolf padded back to the mouth of the alleyway. Fur slicked flat with the rain and minus the growling and snarling he looked a lot less vicious than the last time he had stood there. Sitting down he blinked his large amber eyes at the exhausted girl and cocked his head to one side, somehow managing to express worry in his wolfen gaze.

"Thank you..." Was all the girl managed to say before she collapsed into unconsciousness.


	4. A frog?

Chapter 4 – A frog??

Sighing happily she sank back into the warm comfort of the bed, turning the side of her face to rub against the soft pillow. Wait, pillow? Bed? The implication of those words hit her like a ton of bricks. Sitting bolt upright she scrambled to right herself, and leaning against the headboard, hugged her knees to her chest while examining her surroundings.

The room she found herself in was completely alien to her. While huge and cushy to her eyes it was in fact a reasonably small, modest room by most standards. It was a light, airy space. The walls were cream with small blue flowers evenly spaced and the carpet was an almost pure white. There was one large window on the wall opposite the bed, framed by baby blue curtains – currently drawn – and set slightly out of the wall, forming a narrow window seat. The seat was made of the same smooth cream wood as the window frame and was made more comfortable by numerous white, cream and blue cushions placed at either end of the bench.

Furthest from her on the wall to her right there was a set of double doors which looked to open onto a wardrobe and about a metre after that, closer to her, there was a single door, which she could only imagine led to the rest of the house.

Turning her attention to the bed she took in the cream wood frame with it's beautifully carved headboard of sea shells and waves; the matching bedside table which was empty but for a powder blue hairbrush; and the blue bedsheet with a pattern of white shells similar to the ones on the headboard. All in all the room made her think of a scene from the seaside, calm and inviting.

Extremely curious to see where she was the girl slid out of the warm bed with the intention of sneaking a glance out of the window. She was pulled up short, however, by the shock of what she saw once the covers were pushed aside. She was clothed in blue silk pyjamas! Where the hell had they come from?! Where were her old clothes? Admittedly they were a couple of sizes too big but they were the best she could find and all she had!

Panic renewed she twisted the rest of the way out of bed and dashed to the window. Having already made more noise than she was comfortable with, she knelt on the window seat, careful not to make the wood creak as she did so, and cautiously pulled the edge of the curtain aside. Looking out she realised immediately that she was not in a room on the ground floor. Glancing down she gasped softly as she took in the scene below. She counted seven people in the vast space below. It was a beautiful garden, obviously very well kept. She had no way of judging how large the place was, never having needed one in the past, she knew only that it was the largest enclosed area that she had ever stumbled upon in her life.

Once the sheer size of the place had managed to sink in, she turned her eyes to the details of the garden. The first thing that she noticed was just how green it all was. Directly below her window there was some sort of paved area with a set of white table and chairs set up, this seemed to be the only part of the garden which wasn't bathed in a sort of ethereal green light. Once the paving stopped there was green grass which stretched on and on until it reached what was clearly the end of the garden. The boundary separating the garden from the rest of the world was a long hedge which ran the whole perimeter of the garden, joining the house at each side. It was a reasonably tall hedge, tall enough that an adult of average height would be able to see over, while she herself, small as she was, would have had to jump to do so. From here, however, she had a clear view over and past the hedges. There was not a great deal to catch her interest past the garden. Rolling hills with a few small forests dotted across the landscape. There seemed to be no more civilisation for miles.

Returning her gaze to the garden the girl inspected the small stream which wound its way more or less diagonally across the place. Its flow was interrupted by the many small and large, moss covered rocks which broke its surface. It was here that three of the seven strangers were occupying themselves. There were two boys and one girl. The first boy was tall and rather slightly built. He had messy black hair which he was currently running a hand through, a sheepish grin on his face. He was dressed in dark blue jeans with a red t-shirt which had some strange geometric design adorning the front.

His cringing grin was being directed at a girl sat in the water below him. She had glossy dark red hair and the vivid green hue of her almond shaped eyes was clear even from this distance. She was currently smoothing out her drenched black shirt as she righted herself, clearly having not been bathing in the stream by any decision of her own. Finishing with the shirt she slowly made sure her dripping denim skirt was straight before turning her eyes to the boy in what was clearly one hell of a glare. The subsequent scream of "POTTER!!!!!!" was very clearly audible the blond's position at the window and she giggled to herself as the redhead took off after the now running boy.

Grin still on her face she turned her gaze to examine the last of the group of three, now standing alone. This was another boy, though he couldn't have been more different to the first had it been planned. Short and squat, he wasn't so much fat as round. He had strange hair, if it had to be described it could be called blond but only because colourless isn't an acceptable way of classifying hair. It was thin and wispy, the pinkish colour of his scalp showing through slightly from this angle, although that wouldn't be apparent if stood by him. He had a strange face and the girl gazed, puzzled by it. It was slightly chubby but not overly so, almost lending him the look of a child. He had small eyes which seemed to be permanently squinting; the colour was not clear from such a distance. These features combined with his rather long, pointed nose gave him an odd rat-like appearance. He was wearing seemingly absurd clothes for such warm weather; a dark red tatty looking jumper with black trousers of an indiscernible fabric and a red and gold scarf wrapped around his neck.

The poor boy looked rather worried at the other two's antics, as though he wasn't sure if he should laugh or fetch help. He stood by the stream edge for a few moments looking entirely bewildered before a man, older than the teens, strolled over and asked him a question. Although the man had asked the question gently the worried boy still jumped as though he was expecting he would be yelled at. Blinking rapidly at the man he seemed to take a few seconds to absorb the question before nodding mutely and following the man as he walked over to a bench on the far right of the garden, near to the point where the stream ran out under the hedge, leaving the garden. There was a woman already sitting at one end of the long bench. She was a pretty woman, clearly middle aged but it suited her well. Her long brown hair was tied simply yet elegantly over one shoulder. She had an open face, smiling calmly at the two men walking towards her. Her dark purple skirt fell to about mid calf, light material swirling in the breeze as her hair tried to follow suit but failed as she ran her hands through it absently.

As the men reached her, her husband - the relationship was obvious from the easy kiss he lay upon her cheek - gestured for the younger boy to take a seat and promptly did so himself. As the three entered into conversation which was albeit a little jumpy on the teen's part, the girl examined the older man from her perch on the window seat. She took in his slim face and slight build. The black slacks and comfortable looking shirt he wore, the sleeves rolled up and top two buttons undone giving the outfit a casual look. He had a kind face, and seemed to be permanently smiling. He had jet black hair which was as messy as, what was it that girl had screamed? Ah yes, James Potter's. She supposed this must be the boy's parents then.

Moving on from the three on the bench she let her eyes roam the garden again, searching for the final two she had counted. As her eyes moved over to the back left area of the garden she saw the redhead had caught James and was currently happily hitting him with a stick she'd found somewhere in the garden. Giggling quietly again at the scene she let her eyes drift over to the figure she could see crouched at the edge of the stream, watching the water. The broad shoulders and corded muscles in his arms game him away as a boy, she could only see him from the back as he was facing away from the house. His black hair tickled the collar of his white shirt, open with a white t-shirt worn underneath. He also wore close fitting blue stonewashed jeans.

Straightening up suddenly, he turned to face the angry redhead who was still beating James, though it would seem she'd broken the first stick and had to find another if the discarded remains on the floor where anything to go by. James had apparently decided it would be best not to run and had curled up into a defensive ball on the floor. Manly.

A wicked grin was plastered on the new boys face. He held on tightly to something in one hand behind his back while the other was tucked nonchalantly into his jeans pocket. Casually he sauntered over to the pretty redhead and smiled endearingly. This obviously set alarm bell ringing in her head as she dropped the stick and backed away a step with a wary expression on her face. The following verbal exchange was missed by the blond in the window and the next thing she knew a small green... thing, was launching itself at the wary girl.

Was that... a frog?

It was.

The frog had landed smack bang in the middle of her face and both boys immediately fell about laughing. This time laughing aloud at their antics, the blond girl began searching the garden once again without waiting for the reaction to the frog attack. She was sure there had been another stranger in the yard and for some reason it was now desperately important that she find them.

Before long she noticed the small wooded area at the far left of the garden, close to the house. It reminded her very much of the copse of trees she had taken shelter in not long ago. Her eyes scanned the short tree line and it wasn't long before she found what she was looking for, along with something she hadn't been.

She didn't have time to take in any of this boy's looks or mannerisms this time. He was looking right at her.

Their eyes met, black to amber, and for a moment she froze. She couldn't read the expression in those eyes, had no clue as to their owners intentions. That scared her more than anything. Quick as a flash she jumped back from the window and let the curtain fall closed behind her, heart racing and eyes wild with panic.


End file.
